Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 1003 Schemes and Machinations That Touch People's Hearts

As the saying goes, hard work pays off, and even a blind sparrow won't starve.

With the help of the constables, Shu Huxie and his men quickly found the two Han soldiers.

However, they did not alert the enemy; instead, they lingered in the vicinity to keep watch.

Logically speaking, in an agrarian society, people are attached to their land and would definitely attract some attention if a new face appeared in the vicinity.

But what is the current situation of the Jin Dynasty?
The chain reaction of the defeat at Fufengkou and the destruction of the Eastern Jin Dynasty has spread to Chang'an. Wealthy households have begun to try to escape the city, prices are soaring, and people are in a state of panic. Even foreign troops are trying to send people into the city. One or two more young men who look like Jurchens are not a big deal.

In addition, Shu Huxie and others were quick to seize the opportunity and presented themselves as the down-on-his-luck guards of the commander after his departure, which was a natural performance. Therefore, the two Han soldiers quickly dispelled their doubts.

There was nothing they could do. The Jin Kingdom had suffered defeat after defeat, and there were simply too many routs like Shu Huxie. Even the legendary detective Di Renjie would be at a loss.

On December 25th, Shu Huxie finally noticed that the two Han soldiers had made some moves.

On that day, one of them prepared a carriage and horses and headed towards the city gate. When he returned, he seemed to be carrying two people.

Then, the carriage, escorted by two Han soldiers, headed east of the city.

Shu Huxie dared not be negligent and followed closely behind with three attendants.

These Han soldiers were skilled at fighting the enemy, but they had no chance of being trained in urban tracking and counter-tracking. In addition, the people in Chang'an were in a state of panic and chaos. Shu Huxie was not discovered along the way and followed the carriage to a small courtyard in the east of the city.

The courtyard seemed to have been abandoned for a long time. It took the two Han soldiers a lot of effort to unlock the door and drive the carriage inside.

In broad daylight, Shu Huxie couldn't afford to alert the enemy, so he could only wait patiently outside the courtyard.

Night quickly fell, and after evading the patrolling constables twice, Shu Huxie heard the sound of a carriage in the dark corner of the wall. It wasn't that someone was leaving the courtyard, but rather that someone else was coming to visit.

The courtyard gate creaked open, and the newly arrived coachman whispered a few words to the Han soldiers who had been waiting for a long time before the carriage drove into the courtyard.

Shu Hu Xie also moved his limbs, which were almost frozen, and said to his three companions, "Get ready. When I give the signal, we'll charge in together."

Having said that, Shu Huxie tightened his grip on his sword, grabbed the top of the wall with both arms, and climbed over.

After landing silently, Shu Huxie used his eyes, honed from nighttime tiger hunting training, to scan the area and discovered that he was likely in the backyard, between the back wing and the main hall.

The two people who came for a private meeting seemed to want to avoid attracting attention, so there were only three or four guards in total, who should all be stationed in the front yard at this time.

"I warned you all long ago! Don't act rashly! Don't act rashly! Why didn't you listen?!"

The voice came from the main hall, and there seemed to be barely suppressed anger in the heavy Kansai accent.

Shu Huxie's heart stirred, and he slowed his pace, quietly approaching the back corner door of the main hall and pressing his ear against it.

"What are you shouting? Do you really think I'm some kind of king or emperor who can control everyone?"

Another, older voice slowly replied: "Hu Sanlang, I advise you to think this through. Nowadays, no one wants to be subordinate to anyone else. Everyone wants to do their own thing. The reason they've banded together is simply because the situation is frightening and they need to protect themselves."

"I know, I know." The young voice was somewhat impatient. "Of course I know all that! But there has to be some sense of priority! What kind of nonsense is it to kill a lone garrison commander who escaped from Linhuang Prefecture?!"

Shu Huxie's cheek twitched twice as he reached out and gripped the hilt of his knife.

"Keep your voice down!"

"What are you afraid of?! This is the place I chose. All the surrounding houses are empty. No one will hear me slaughtering a pig here!"

That being said, the young voice was no longer as high-pitched as before.

Shu Hu Xie couldn't help but stretch his head forward again.

After a moment of silence in the main hall, a young voice finally rang out: "Tell me the truth, is it because of the crushing defeat at Fufeng Pass, and the loss of Tudan Hexi's head, that you Tanguts no longer take Wanyan Liang seriously?"

As if confirming something, after a moment, the young man's voice became loud again: "How dare you?! Yes, Wanyan Liang is indeed no match for the Prince of Han, and he was also defeated and forced to flee in a sorry state by Prime Minister Lu, but who are these two people? They started with a few hundred men and won every battle, and they have become figures of a great nation spanning thousands of miles. Who wouldn't be utterly defeated if they faced them?!"

Although Wanyan Liang was defeated, he repeatedly managed to escape with his life and rise again. What are you Tanguts?! How dare you look down on him?

After a series of questions, the old man seemed somewhat embarrassed and angry: "Enough! Hu Sanlang! If you just want to complain, then I'm sorry, I'm too busy with official duties to keep you company!"

"Hehehe, fine, then leave now! We Han people still have a way to go. Whether we become the henchmen of the Han King or the vanguard of the Song State, we can at least survive. I want to see how you Tanguts live! Do you really think we Han people from Guanzhong are as close as family to you?! We have been fighting the Western bandits for almost a hundred years!"

After they each uttered their harsh words, there was a long silence.

Just as Shu Huxie was about to give the signal to charge in, the old man's voice finally rang out: "The people inside the city killed Wanyan Zonghao not to clip Wanyan Liang's wings, but to make Wanyan Liang feel that his wings were being clipped."

"what?"

Like the young man in the hall who exclaimed in astonishment, Shu Huxie was also filled with questions.

"The purpose of the people in the city is to urge you, the commanders outside the city, to make a decision as soon as possible. Once this is done, a suspicious ruler like His Majesty will definitely become suspicious of everyone inside and outside the city. If you do not make a decision, it will not be a matter of one or two people dying."

"Hmph... There are also Tangut troops outside the city. It's one thing for you inside the city not to trust us Han soldiers, but you don't even trust your own people?"

"Who told you we're all on the same side? Even when the Great White Kingdom still existed, the court was already divided into two factions: the royal family and the traitor Ren. Back then, the traitor Ren held military power. After Your Majesty destroyed the Great White Kingdom, almost all the generals who came to your aid were on Ren's side. As for those of us who were loyal to the royal family, most of us became civil officials."

You think all the remnants of the Great White Kingdom are united? Nonsense! Even when the nation still existed, we wanted nothing more than to tear each other apart!

"Ha... the Western bandits truly deserved to die."

Faced with the young man's teasing, the old man merely snorted coldly: "Do you think you Han people don't have your own ulterior motives? In my opinion, the way this was done so decisively and efficiently is hardly the work of us Tangut people who have lived in the Hetao region for generations!"

"...You mean, there were also people from the Western Han Dynasty who forced us to take action? Who were they?"

"Hmph, why don't you ask your two personal guards? They're in the city making contacts; surely they know something?"

Another silence fell over the hall.

Then a series of footsteps sounded, and the young man's voice faintly came from the front hall: "...You...how dare you take orders...Aren't you afraid of military law...?"

Whether it was because of the screen blocking the view or because the front hall was quite far away, the sound was intermittent and Shu Hu Xie couldn't hear it clearly at all, so he couldn't help but stretch his neck forward again.

However, with just this movement, the corner door, which had been slightly ajar due to the rust on the metal hinges, was pushed open, and the creaking sound instantly entered the now quiet hall.

"Who?!"

The old man's alert voice came from behind.

Seeing this, Shu Huxie stopped hiding and put a whistle in his mouth, blowing it forcefully.

"Han traitors! Tangut dogs!" Shu Huxie drew his sword, whistled, and kicked open the door with a sinister grin: "The garrison commander of Shangjing has come to claim our lives!"

Hu Chong was just yelling at his two guards when he heard shouts of killing. He was shocked and drew his guards' swords. He turned around and rushed over, where he met Shu Huxie right in front of the old man.

The two men didn't exchange words or shout; they simply swung their knives and began to slash.

The sparks from the clash of blades momentarily overpowered the candlelight, and the clanging of the weapons sent dust flying from the roof beams.

After barely managing to force Shu Huxie back, Hu Chong shouted sternly, "Wo Daochong! Are you scared out of your wits?! Run!"

Wodaochong nodded repeatedly, but after getting up, he tripped over the hem of his robe and rolled on the ground.

"What a waste!"

"You're not going anywhere!"

Three Jurchen soldiers also scaled the wall and entered, engaging in battle with the two Han soldiers who had reacted.

None of them were armored, and after taking a powerful blow, they were often either killed or seriously injured. Almost from the moment they met, they fought each other to the death with the most ferocious attitude.

After kicking Shu Huxie away, Hu Chong grabbed Wo Daochong and ran outside.

"Go find the horse!"

"No, to the side courtyard carriage... carriage."

"What the hell is going on?! Still riding in a horse-drawn carriage?!"

The two men exchanged only a few words before the enraged Shuhu Xie also killed two Han soldiers on the spot, while the Jurchens paid the price of one dead and one wounded.

However, even the injured Jurchen woman did not stop, staggering as she charged after Shu Huxie.

Seeing that Wu Daochong was still trying to escape to the side courtyard, Hu Chong finally couldn't hold back any longer: "Is your little wife in the carriage?!"

"There's something on the carriage..."

Before Wodaochong could finish speaking, a series of whooshing sounds came from the darkness. Before the three Jurchen warriors could react, they were shot to the ground, the fletchings of the arrows embedded in their bodies still trembling.

It was only then that Wodaochong caught his breath: "My coachman used to be Iron Falcon."

A burly man emerged from the shadows, carrying a large longbow, and bowed to Wodaochong.

Although Hu Chong was astonished by the man's rapid-fire arrow technique, he did not forget his mission and immediately went forward to finish him off.

After killing the other two Jurchen soldiers, Hu Chong kicked Shu Huxie, who was trying to get up, to the ground.

"Speak! Who ordered you to kill me?!"

"Pah!" Shu Huxie was also pierced through the chest and abdomen by two arrows. He was already at his limit, and after being kicked over, he was even more dejected and could only forcefully spit out a mouthful of blood.

Hu Chong stomped on the man's neck and broke it. He stood up and said to Wo Daochong, "We can't stay in the city any longer! Come with me out of the city right now!"

Wodao Chong hesitated for a moment: "This...this shouldn't be His Majesty's work..."

Upon hearing this, Hu Chong turned and left, saying, "Then go ahead and gamble with your old life. I'm not playing along!"

(End of this chapter)